ALABAMA 



the great railway systems of the South tap the 

 mineral regions of the northern part the 

 Southern, the Mobile and Ohio, the Louisville 

 and Nashville, the 'Frisco lines, the Seaboard 

 Air Line, the Atlantic Coast Line and the 

 Central Railroad of Georgia. Through these 

 systems the state has connection with the 

 great trunk lines of the north and west. 



The People. Since its admission to the 

 Union the population of Alabama has increased 

 steadily, but not rapidly. From 127,900 in 

 1820 it increased to 309,000 in 1830 and 590,000 

 in 1840. Thereafter the average increase was 

 about twenty per cent every ten years, bring- 

 ing the total to 2,138,093 in 1910. Of this total 

 132,600, or 6.2 per cent, lived in Birmingham, 

 a city which owes its existence to the iron and 

 steel industry. Over eighty per cent of the 

 people, however, live in rural districts, only 

 thirteen cities having more than 5,000 people. 

 After Birmingham, the largest cities, in order, 

 are Mobile, Montgomery, Selma, Anniston, 

 Bessemer and Gadsden. 



Alabama has a large number of negro in- 

 habitants; in 1910 the percentage was 42.5 as 

 compared with 45.2 in 1900. The further de- 

 velopment of the great industrial region sur- 

 rounding Birmingham is bound to lower this 

 percentage still more, for the mills and fac- 

 tories are drawing white people from other 

 states. Alabama has long been notable because 

 it has few foreign-born citizens, but in the 

 decade from 1900 to 1910 their number in- 

 creased from 14^00 to 51,370. This was partly 

 due to the opportunities offered in factories, 

 but also to those in farming. Germans, Eng- 

 lish, Irish, Italians, Scotch, Russians and 

 Canadians are the most numerous. 



Education. The first constitution of Ala- 

 bama, adopted in 1819, declared that "schools, 

 and the means of education, shall be forever 

 encouraged in this state." This declaration was 

 "not put fully into effect at once. For more 

 than twenty-five years the only public schools 

 in the state were in Mobile, and it may safely 

 be said that until after the War of Secession 

 there were no free public schools. Even those 

 schools to which the state contributed were 

 supported in part by tuition, and as late as 

 1872 it was estimated that one-third of all 

 money received by the schools came from 

 private gifts or subscriptions. 



Since 1875, when a new constitution was 

 adopted, the public school system has made 

 rapid progress. The permanent school fund, 

 derived chiefly from the sale of lands donated 



128 ALABAMA 



by Congress, now amounts to more than 

 $2,000,000. There is also an annual state 

 tax of thirty cents per $100 for school pur- 

 poses, and certain license and other fees are 

 also devoted to the same end. All state funds 

 are- apportioned among the counties according 

 to the number of children between the ages 

 of seven and twenty-one. Of the children 

 between those ages a few more than half at- 

 tend school. About twenty-two per cent of tlir 

 total population and more than fifty per cent 

 of the negroes are illiterate (see ILLITERACY). 



Secondary and Higher Education. A state 

 law of 1907 permits the establishment of at 

 least one high school in every county, but the 

 operation of the law depends on the governor 

 whenever, in his judgment, the condition of 

 the treasury permits. There are six state nor- 

 mal schools for whites, at Florence, Troy, Jack- 

 sonville, Daphne, Livingston and Moundville. 

 At Montgomery is a state normal for negroes. 

 The state also maintains schools for dc;if, 

 dumb and blind children, all at Talladega, the 

 Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn, and 

 nine agricultural high schools (one in each 

 Congressional district) which are preparatory 

 schools for the University of Alabama (which 

 see). Besides the state university there are a 

 number of private institutions for higher edu- 

 cation, including Southern University, at 

 Greensboro, and Birmingham College at Bir- 

 mingham, both supported by the Methodist 

 Episcopal Church, South; Saint Bernard Col- 

 lege at Saint Bernard and Spring Hill College 

 at Spring Hill, both Roman Catholic; Judson 

 College for women at Marion and Howard 

 College for men at East Lake, both Baptist; 

 Alabama Synodical College for women (Pres- 

 byterian) at Talladega; and Tuscaloosa Fe- 

 male College (Methodist Episcopal Church, 

 South) at Tuscaloosa. Perhaps the most 

 famous school in the state is the Tuskegee 

 Normal and Industrial Institute (which see). 



Government. Alabama has been governed 

 under five constitutions. The one now in force, 

 adopted in 1901, provides an executive depart- 

 ment consisting of a governor, lieutenant- 

 governor, attorney-general, secretary of state, 

 state auditor, state treasurer, commissioner of 

 agriculture and industries, and superintendent 

 of education. Each of these officers is elected 

 for four years and is not eligible for reelection. 

 The governor is not eligible by appointment or 

 election to any office in the state or to the 

 United States Senate during his term of office 

 or within one year of its expiration. The 



